To the south, the Washington Monument rose above the National Mall like a blazing beacon. Devin leaned out to get a better look. The view was definitely worth the upcharge. He’d love to bring his sister here the next time she flew out from LA. Dad too. Hopefully at the same time. It had been a while since they’d spent some time together. Things hadn’t been the same since his mother’s breakdown. Her final break from reality, and the family, had taken an awful toll on all of them. He didn’t want to spoil the view thinking about it.

“Devin. Room four thirty-two. Take the western stairwell. Advise when in position.”

“On the way,” he said.

Now for the fun part. And by fun he meant risky. Possibly even dangerous.

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3

Devin waited for the green light to extract Chase. Barring any significant unseen complications, he’d have him back in the stairwell and on the way out of the hotel in under a minute. Keeping Chase safe until they reached the armored SUV standing by outside the hotel was his only objective. The firm’s direct-action (DA) team would handle the rest. Specifically, room four thirty-four.

A member of the surveillance team had walked the floor a few minutes ago with a concealed radio frequency (RF) detector, identifying rooms four thirty-two and four thirty-four as RF hot spots—encrypted signals in frequency ranges typically associated with high-end video-surveillance equipment.

With the honey trap going down in four thirty-two, that put the shakedown team in the adjacent room. They assumed it to comprise the suits from the bar and at least two other heavies. This type of blackmail operation relied on shock and embarrassment. The more the merrier when they busted into the room and caught their victim in the act.

But nothing in that room was his concern. Either room, really. He just hoped the two men hadn’t disappeared into a third room nearby, especially if it stood between four thirty-two and the stairwell. Nobody had actually seen them go into four thirty-four. Things could get ugly if the surveillance team’s assumption proved to be incorrect. Devin carried an expandable steel baton, clipped to the inside of his jacket, that he could put to good use under most circumstances. Two against one in a constricted hallway, while trying to protect a client, wasn’t one of those circumstances.

If that happened, he’d need help, which wouldn’t be far away—assuming the DA team could handle room four thirty-four. A big assumption, given they had no idea whom they were up against. A corporate espionage team hired by a competitive company? A hostile-state effort? All they really knew was they were well funded and professional. A dangerous combination.